There is no denying it... there are more and more virtual talks about drinks as our Covid lockdown continues. Grog (yes, grog by a Naval museum), beer, whiskey/whisky, gin, cocktails, teas and chocolate. Many talks include recommended samples - either mailed or picked up locally. And even beer games done museum style (Penn Museum of UPenn). Tapes, then the October talks.
Bacon or meat racks hung from the
ceiling beams in front of hearths in Great Britain. By 1823 "every
kitchen" had the racks which were also an "impediment to upright
walking." Image from 1758.
Clarissa F. Dillon, the authority (she wrote the book!) on 18th century kitchen gardens, is introducing us to unusual plants and their uses in true quarantine fashion - virtually. We get to follow along as she tends her period correct garden at the 1696 Thomas Massey House, see the end results (medicinal, cosmetic, and yes, as food) and delight in Clarissa’s vast knowledge, sharp wit and great sense of fun. She is One Cool Colonial... in 10 minute episodes.
This image, from 1840, shows one of the flamboyant stands in Naples which "look much like the shrines of the Madonna in other Italian cities." The stands sold "orangeade and lemonade mixed with snow." Complete image, below. 
The Center for Food and Culture is collecting oral histories and also written answers to online questions (if you prefer) on comfort foodways during the pandemic. Help them... and future researchers... by participating HERE.
The cylindrical sorbetiere and scraper was still sold in 1903. But in the 1840s models were patented with paddles to churn the cream or milk as it froze. I've put some pictures I've collected of a wide variety of styles of ice cream makers together to easily compare and contrast. Many of these images, with descriptions, are in future (Walker, Gouffe) or past posts (Fuller HERE) and 5 descriptions in 'Gunter's Tea Shop' with more posts HERE. 
Let's show support for our Canadian friends and "Cook like a Canadian" on their #FoodDayCanada. Their catchy "Put Canada on the Menu" with recipes and nice photos are on the official website HERE And remarkably, cooking in a First Nations wooden box.
Owen Wister's popular 1906 novel was followed the next year by a Lady Baltimore Cake recipe, and in 1909 the Lady Baltimore Ice Cream appeared. picture of LB cake
If you are able to get large strawberries, this sounds like a delightful recipe to try. John Nott had a delicious fried beet recipe with a wine batter from 1723, so next year I'll try earlier to find some sturdy strawberries. 
This is a lemonade for hot weather - like Switchel or Shrub - very tart (only 1T or a teaspoon of honey). Alexis Soyer called it a "Cooling Lemonade" in 1849, and a later cookbook author named it "Picnic Lemonade." The vivid pink color happens instantly when lemon juice is added to the liquid from boiling the figs and yellow of the lemon peels.
The American Philosophical Society, founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1743,
houses his papers, which include recipes in French. The APS “invited scholars, public historians, and chefs with a range of interests to share their reflections on Franklin, his recipes, and the
culture of the eighteenth-century Atlantic World over the coming weeks” on their BLOG. Other sites offer videos or old recipes, below.
Handwritten documents - recipes, letters - are important for research. You can help other researchers and libraries from your home computer by transcribing digitized manuscript cookbooks; thus making them easier to read and able to be searched. 
Remember those who served... and those still serving to protect us.
The bees are out enjoying all the dandelions from all the rain. This 1869 image depicts the "three classes of bees" and how the swarm leaves the beehive to "settle upon a limb" then placed in the wooden box. The author clearly was not allergic, boasting "no protection to face or hands." Don't try this at home!
Hundreds of virtual food history talks, demos, tours and reading materials are free or minimal charge. Over 90 talks in Oct. so far. About a third of the talks are taped and will continue to be freely available - links further down this post and the past events archive post. If you know of any other activities, please use "contact form" on right. ENJOY!
Doctors attended to the sick in their homes, but according to Rosalie Calvert of Maryland, "he makes us prepare all the remedies." Many cookbooks during this period included "simple remedies." 
Since 1888, White Rabbit has been competing with Paas (founded 1880) packaged egg dyes. The White Rabbit advertising included colorful graphics and lovely paper dye sheets. These 1899 ads are more colorful than Paas Egg Dye Co's advertising. Their web site is just as colorful and creative.
Three weeks before Easter, in the middle of Lent, was Mothering Sunday, Mid-Lent Sunday or in Bury, England - Simnel Sunday. Simnel Cake (boiled then baked), Mothering Buns, Furmity and lamb. 
Olio was an extravagant stew of many meats, vegetables, herbs and spices served in it's own "close-covered" cooking "olio pot." Vincent La Chapelle, "Chief Cook" to the Earl of Chesterfield, included three recipes in his 1733 work The Modern Cook - one French Olio and two Spanish. By the 1860s a Crab Olio was in two Maryland cookbooks - no meat, but crab, eggplant and tomatoes.
Winter butter was pale, but was enhanced with carrot juice, marigold, annato, turmeric and even egg yolks for selling in the cities. "No one in the country will eat colored butter in winter except as the
milk colors it." The taste and color naturally improved when the cows ate grass instead of their winter diet of hay. More on grass butter HERE
How great would it be to own a c200 year old Rumford Roaster! This Rumford Roaster, made by Elijah Fuller of Salem, was originally in an 18th century house in Peabody MA, and was working into the late 20th century; the home was demolished and the oven was saved and installed in a new house. Again removed and stored, the current owner hopes it will be used and appreciated once again.
Robert Roberts (c1777-1860) was a free African American who wrote the marvelous The House Servant's Directory in 1827. 
Instead of a Twelfth Night Cake, waffles were among the holiday's foods in the 17th century, painted by Jan Steen (1626-1679). Click on picture to enlarge
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